Japanese bonds rally as tech rout drives demand for safer assets

TOKYO: Japanese government bonds (JGBs) rallied on Friday, sending yields to multi-month lows, as investors scurried to traditional safe-haven assets as a rout in tech stocks deepened.

Here are a few details:

* The benchmark 10-year JGB yield dropped as much as 9 basis points (bps) to 1.795 per cent, the lowest since June 30

* The two-year yield lost six bps to 1.795 per cent, the lowest since Sept1, while the five-year yield declined eight bps to 2.11 per cent, the lowest since Aug 20

* Other cash bond tenors had yet to trade as of 0033 GMT

* Japan's Nikkei share average slumped 5.5 per cent, with tech heavyweights Advantest and SoftBank Group each tumbling around 12 per cent